A former officer with the Ohkay Owingeh Police Department, Justin Aguino, pleaded guilty on Apr. 10 to obstruction of justice after admitting he disclosed confidential information about a federal investigation.
The case is significant because it involves a law enforcement official misusing his position and potentially jeopardizing an ongoing federal probe involving Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Court documents show that on February 26, 2020, Aguino called an individual and revealed that someone they were in contact with was cooperating with federal authorities. This disclosure was intended to alert the individual about the informant’s status, knowing it could interfere with an active investigation. When questioned by FBI agents in 2022, Aguino denied having shared this information.
Aguino had been released under conditions pending trial in July 2023 but failed to appear for a child support hearing in August 2024. This led to a tribal bench warrant being issued and further violations when he did not maintain contact with Pretrial Services. The FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office offered a reward for his capture before he was arrested at Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo on November 26, 2025.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced the plea agreement. The Santa Fe Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated the case along with several other agencies including Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Aguino now faces up to fifteen months in prison at sentencing.
